Mizoram Chief Minister Urges Centre to Send FCRA Amendment Bill to JPC

Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma on Sunday (August 9) took a major decision. The decision is related to the Centre sending the proposed Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) Amendment Bill to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC). The state government has urged the Centre to send the bill to the JPC. This will allow deliberations before finalising the law. The amendment proposes to create a powerful authority. It will seize and ban the property of non-profit organisations whose licences have been cancelled. The proposed amendments have drawn attention of Christian-majority Mizoram. Churches and civil society organisations here have raised concerns over the provisions that they feel may affect groups receiving foreign contributions. The chief minister said, "Recently met Home Minister Amit Shah ji in New Delhi. He was accompanied by representatives of various Christian denominations from across the state. These include the Mizoram Huiharn Committee (MKC) and the Council of Churches (DL)." He also shared some concerns about the provisions of the proposed law during his meetings.